Summary of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (Vintage International)

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 The town of Holcomb is located on the high wheat plains of western Kansas. It is a lonesome area that other Kansans call out there. The local accent is barbed with a prairie twang, and the men wear narrow frontier trousers, Stetsons, and high-heeled boots with pointed toes.

#2 Until November 1959, no Americans had ever heard of Holcomb. But when four foreign sounds impinged on the town’s normal noises that morning, none of the people there had ever heard them before.

#3 Herbert William Clutter was the master of River Valley Farm. He was 48 years old, and he had a strong and healthy appearance. He was not as rich as the richest man in Holcomb, Mr. Taylor Jones, a neighboring rancher, but he was still widely known and respected among Midwestern agriculturists.

#4 Mr. Clutter’s wife, Bonnie, had been an on-and-off psychiatric patient the last half-dozen years. She had recently been diagnosed with a physical condition that was causing her pain. Clutter was worried about how his family would react to this news.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669381112

IRB Media

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Insights on Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (Vintage International)

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The town of Holcomb is located on the high wheat plains of western Kansas. It is a lonesome area that other Kansans call out there. The local accent is barbed with a prairie twang, and the men wear narrow frontier trousers, Stetsons, and high-heeled boots with pointed toes.

#2

Until November 1959, no Americans had ever heard of Holcomb. But when four foreign sounds impinged on the town’s normal noises that morning, none of the people there had ever heard them before.

#3

Herbert William Clutter was the master of River Valley Farm. He was 48 years old, and he had a strong and healthy appearance. He was not as rich as the richest man in Holcomb, Mr. Taylor Jones, a neighboring rancher, but he was still widely known and respected among Midwestern agriculturists.

#4

Mr. Clutter’s wife, Bonnie, had been an on-and-off psychiatric patient the last half-dozen years. She had recently been diagnosed with a physical condition that was causing her pain. Clutter was worried about how his family would react to this news.

#5

Mr. Clutter liked Bobby, and considered him dependable and gentlemanly. However, he did not approve of his daughter dating anyone else, as it was the current national adolescent custom to form couples and wear engagement rings. He asked her to begin a gradual breaking off with Bobby.

#6

Mr. Clutter was a very strict employer. He did not drink, smoke, or use caffeine, and he enforced these rules within his family and the employees at River Valley Farm. He was not a hearty eater, and he only drank milk.

#7

One of the barns was a Quonset hut, and it housed a dark, pungent hill of milo grain worth considerable money. The farm was successful because it was dedicated to growing only crops that were important to the government.

#8

The Clutters had a grove of fruit trees near the river, which was their attempt at creating a patch of the paradise he envisioned.

#9

Mr. Clutter had a property along the river that was not very accessible, and was not often visited by strangers. One day, five pheasant hunters from Oklahoma showed up and began hunting. Clutter did not realize that it would be his last hunting expedition.

#10

The young man in the café, who never drank coffee, preferred root beer. He was waiting for a friend, and was sure he would show up. He was planning on moving to Mexico.

#11

The map showed the locations of Ink-circled names. COZUMEL, an island off the coast of Yucatán, where you could shed your clothes, put on a relaxed grin, and have all the women you want for $50-a-month. ACAPULCO connoted deep-sea fishing, casinos, and anxious rich women. SIERRA MADRE meant gold.

#12

Dick was a half hour late, but if he had not hammered home the importance of the next twenty-four hours, he would not have noticed it. Time rarely weighed on him because he had many methods of passing it. He always used the same mental scenery: a night club in Las Vegas, which was his home town.

#13

Nancy was always available to help other girls with their cooking, sewing, or music lessons. She had so many commitments that there was no room for a cherry-pie lesson for Jolene.

#14

Nancy was a pretty girl with darkly translucent eyes and a kind demeanor. She was always friendly and likable, and her lack of suspicion made her very easy to trust.

#15

The two friends had discussed the problem of Nancy’s father and her relationship with him. They had agreed that she loved Bobby now, and needed him. But deep down, even Bobby knew there wasn’t any future in it.

#16

Dick was a hunter, and he had a strange collection of items in his car. He